Recyclable paper is sorted at Tri-State Resource Recovery in Evansville on Monday, July 8, 2013. The number of recyclable materials collected from Evansville households has more than doubled in the three months since curbside collection from all city households began. MOLLY BARTELS / COURIER & PRESS ARCHIVES, Evansville Courier & Press

Workers move pieces of cardboard onto a baler at Tri-State Resource Recovery in Evansville on Monday, July 8, 2013. The number of recyclable materials collected from Evansville households has more than doubled in the three months since curbside collection from all city households began. MOLLY BARTELS / COURIER & PRESS ARCHIVES, Evansville Courier & Press

In a year since Evansville's new trash contract started there has been a big uptick in recycling. Seen going through a stream of material to make sure it is all items that can be recycled are (counter-clockwise from left) Frederick Boyd, Justin Baker, Jeremy Tibbs and Heliodoro Copez. This group removes items that can not be recycled. After the material passes this point special rotators separate the items and send things such as metal, paper and plastics to different conveyors for recycling. This work was going on at Tri-State Resource Recovery in Evansville, Ind., on Feb. 21, 2014. KEVIN SWANK / Courier & Press ARCHIVES, The Evansville Courier & Press

James Crenshaw, a driver for BFI, unloads a truck full of sorted recyclables at Tri-State Resource Recovery in Evansville on Thursday, April 19, 2012. Tri-State is getting new equipment that will sort recyclables so that it doesn't have to be done at the curb by workers like Crenshaw. MOLLY BARTELS / COURIER & PRESS ARCHIVES

Glenn Sutton moves cardboard around so that it can be pushed up the conveyor belt and bundled for processing at Tri-State Resource Recovery in Evansville on Thursday, April 19, 2012. Tri-State is getting new equipment that will sort recyclables so that it doesn't have to be done curbside. MOLLY BARTELS / COURIER & PRESS ARCHIVES

Alan Wayman operates a conveyor as aluminum cans are delivered for recycling Wednesday at Tri-State Resource and Recovery April 18, 2007. All of the curb side recycling ends up at the huge warehouse where it is baled and shipped to other recyclers. The facility handles aluminum, glass, plastic bottles 1 and 2, newspaper, mixed paper, cardboard, books, and steel cans. BOB GWALTNEY / Courier & Press ARCHIVES

Plastic bottles lay in a sorting pile off the recycling line at Tri-State Resource Recovery on Thursday, May 1, 2014. A full load of plastic bottles goes out every week to be melted and remade into plastic. The center has seen a significant increase since the city changed recycling programs and hope that number continues to grow.
ERIN MCCRACKEN / COURIER & PRESS ARCHIVES

A dumpster of trash is removed from underneath the recycling sorting line at Tri-State Resource Recovery on Thursday, May 1, 2014. Of the volume of materials that come through the center there is only about 7-10 percent waste that cannot be recycled and has to be thrown away. That happens when residents or businesses throw trash into the recycle bin instead of the trash. This biggest volume of trash tends to be yard waste, says Alan Wayman, plant supervisor.
ERIN MCCRACKEN / COURIER & PRESS ARCHIVES

Joe Sowders (center) takes plastic bags off the line as he opens them and sorts through recyclables at Tri-State Resource Recovery on Thursday, May 1, 2014. Since the citywide curbside recycling program changed, Tri-State has seen a 50 percent increase in residential and commercial recycling.
ERIN MCCRACKEN / COURIER & PRESS ARCHIVES

Residents just have to put all of their recyclable items — plastics, paper, cardboard, aluminum and steel cans — into a single container the size of their garbage can and put it at the curb.

However, what made it easier for people to recycle is making it harder for companies such as Tri-State Resource Recovery, which sorts Evansville's recyclables, to turn a profit.

Single-stream recycling was hailed as a winning proposition when it became available in Evansville. By sorting the collected materials at recycling centers instead of at the curb, municipalities and companies could reduce the hassle of recycling by no longer asking participants to separate their items before setting them out.

It was expected this would increase participation rates. More participation meant communities such as Evansville could extend the life of the landfills taking their trash, reducing future disposal costs.

Increased participation also meant recycling companies could up the volume of materials coming in, offering the potential for more profit. Waste haulers saved money by needing less employees, time and fuel to collect recycling. City residents saved money because this translated to lower bills.

Programs that often only took the most common types of plastics, such as milk, soft drink and water bottles, were now able to take plastics labeled number 3-7 as well, although glass remained a problem.

It was all made possible by a combination of equipment and manpower that sorted the items from each other on a conveyor belt, removing unwanted trash along the way.

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In a year since Evansville's new trash contract started there has been a big uptick in recycling. Seen going through a stream of material to make sure it is all items that can be recycled are (counter-clockwise from left) Frederick Boyd, Justin Baker, Jeremy Tibbs and Heliodoro Copez. This group removes items that can not be recycled. After the material passes this point special rotators separate the items and send things such as metal, paper and plastics to different conveyors for recycling. This work was going on at Tri-State Resource Recovery in Evansville, Ind., on Feb. 21, 2014.(Photo: KEVIN SWANK / Courier & Press ARCHIVES, The Evansville Courier & Press)

Much of that happened when Tri-State Resource Recovery switched to single-stream recycling and signed a new contract with the city in 2012. At the same time, Republic Services signed a new contract to collect the city's trash and recyclables at a lower cost to the city.

Evansville's residential bill decreased $1.50 while citywide participation in curbside recycling rose as high as 81 percent. That has since leveled off at about 64 percent, said Brian Whitesell, Tri-State's general manager.

But the new process also caused higher contamination rates of the sorted materials, Whitesell said, a problem nationwide for single-stream recycling. It still worked, however, largely because the materials could be exported.

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Recyclable paper is sorted at Tri-State Resource Recovery in Evansville on Monday, July 8, 2013. The number of recyclable materials collected from Evansville households has more than doubled in the three months since curbside collection from all city households began. (Photo: MOLLY BARTELS / COURIER & PRESS ARCHIVES, Evansville Courier & Press)

That ended last year when China, the world's largest importer of such materials, dramatically changed its policy, Whitesell said. The country now only accepts scrap materials with 0.5 percent contamination.

The industry standard, he said, is 5 percent or less. However, even that is a problem for many single-stream recycling programs now.

Changes to the world market because of China's restrictions have caused the price per ton of recyclables to plummet and created an overabundance of supply as programs compete to sell their materials.

The prices Tri-State was receiving for its recyclables last year dropped from $53 a ton in January 2018 to $38 a ton in November 2018, Whitesell said.

"Single-stream has been very nice for the customers but not as good for recycling companies," said Joe Ballard, executive director of the Vanderburgh County Solid Waste Management District.

These shifting economics have caused many communities to re-examine their recycling programs in the last year as waste processors have shifted away from single-stream recycling or limited the materials they accept.

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Alan Wayman operates a conveyor as aluminum cans are delivered for recycling Wednesday at Tri-State Resource and Recovery April 18, 2007. All of the curb side recycling ends up at the huge warehouse where it is baled and shipped to other recyclers. The facility handles aluminum, glass, plastic bottles 1 and 2, newspaper, mixed paper, cardboard, books, and steel cans.(Photo: BOB GWALTNEY / Courier & Press ARCHIVES)

"We are in a period of uncertainty like the market has never seen before," Whitesell said.

But he said that while Tri-State Resource Recovery is feeling some of those pressures, it and Evansville have been shielded from the full effect by a unique set of local circumstances.

"Because we are a non-profit we can absorb that in other ways as long as we break even at the end of the year," Whitesell said.

So while it may not make much right now with its municipal contract, Tri-State can do better through commercial contracts, processing already segregated materials such as mixed paper and corrugated cardboard.

"That side of the business from day one has always carried this side of the business," Whitesell said.

A three-way arrangement of contracts between Tri-State, Republic Services and the city locks them into a unique arrangement protecting them from dramatic market changes .

"All of this market volatility that is happening is directly affecting the city's contract with Republic and also with Tri-State," said Ed Ziemer, deputy director for operations at the Evansville Water & Sewer Utility.

He said the city pays Republic $374,318 annually, with built-in adjustments for inflation and fuel costs. About $79,000 of that cost is for recycling pickup.

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Joe Sowders (center) takes plastic bags off the line as he opens them and sorts through recyclables at Tri-State Resource Recovery on Thursday, May 1, 2014. Since the citywide curbside recycling program changed, Tri-State has seen a 50 percent increase in residential and commercial recycling.
(Photo: ERIN MCCRACKEN / COURIER & PRESS ARCHIVES)

The contract requires Republic to deliver the curbside recyclables to Tri-State. Ziemer said the city separately contracts with Tri-State to accept and process those recyclables, paying it $11,000 a month.

"It really is a coalition of municipality, citizens, the hauler and us," Whitesell said. "If one aspect of that fell apart, it crumbles."

Even so, the market glut is making it difficult to off-load those materials after sorting, Whitesell said.

Currently, about 8 percent of what is brought in is trash removed in the sorting process and sent to the landfill, he said. Glass adds another 3 percent to what ends up in the landfill.

With only so much storage space available, there have also been times when Tri-State has had to send some number 3-7 plastics to the landfill on occasion when a buyer couldn't be found for it in the last year, Whitesell said.

"In my 23 years in this industry, it has been through lots of issues. I'm optimistic that solutions will be found to continue recycling in its current format," he said.

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Penn Waste processes about 700-800 tons per day. Take a peak at what the process looks like at Penn Waste's recycling center.
Ty Lohr, tlohr@ydr.com